So, you have also heard of your friend who has now made it big by establishing his business on the internet and you were wondering if that was legit? Well, let me be the one to break the news to you that not everyone who claims to have made it only is involved in the illegal scum business or as we have come to know it, yahoo yahoo. Let me also be the bearer of more good news by telling you that you can also make it big by investing in online businesses and no time is ever too late for you to stat. Currently in the world, Nigeria holds the 8th position in the ranking of the most users of the internet and that says a lot. These days, the only web portal provides a lot of investment opportunities and money mines that are just waiting to be tapped. Is it the vast resources that can be amassed by being an affiliate marketer that should be considered or the fact that as a freelancer, you can choose your own hours and even wok from home? Maybe it would even interest you to know that on a part time basis, you could run something called a blog and make some additional income or just start marketing yourself out there by creation of one service or the other on the net. There are simply a lot of options to choose from when talking about online investments and in this age of the internet, it is somewhat of a crime to yourself if you don’t use this to your own advantage. What are then the various ways in which you can invest and make money online? We list below some of the hottest and by the time you are through, you would have been just halfway to earning your first pay cheque from online investments.

1. Affiliate Marketing Affiliate marketing is actually one of the biggest means you can take to making money online. The idea is simple. You have a website or blog on the internet and you help some brand or company advertise their services by just placing the banner on your website. For every click on that banner by a visitor to your website, you get paid. How fun is that? Being an affiliate marketer doesn’t require any special degree or capital to start up. It takes your zeal, determination and commitment to make it work. You are also not limited to exclusive affiliate marketing for one brand as you can take up as many as you want. In Nigeria, online shops such as Jumia and Konga run a very good affiliate programme that you can sign up for with relative ease and start making some extra cash in your past time.

2. Google Adsence Google also runs something that looks like the affiliate programme but is actually not, and it is called the Google AdSense. Based on the scope and niche of your website, Google looks to place strategic ads at strategic locations on your website and reward you on them using a pay per click basis. This means that as soon as a visitor clicks on the banner, you instantly get paid some amount of money. Nigeria has done tremendously well in benefiting from the Google AdSense programme and more people are benefiting from this daily. You would even be given a link to your payment dashboard where you can check the amount of money you have accrued so far and when it reaches the payment benchmark, you receive an instant credit alert in your local bank account. Great, right?

3. Freelance The internet is the best source of freelance jobs now and you could build a part time or full time career on this. In simple terms, freelance is a recruitment method in which you work for a client (an individual or a business), get paid for the work but do not get recognized as part of their regular employees. But hey, as long as you are getting paid, what do you really care? There are freelance careers in almost every field on the internet ranging from writing to consultation services. Some people have even gotten that full time job they have today from freelancing while others are using it as a means to supplement payment of bills. What are you still waiting for?

4. Blogging Blogging is simply owning a special type of online webpage (called a blog) where you go to post entries according to a timescale (called the blogging schedule). Blogging can be done from anywhere – the comfort of your house, your free hour in the office, on a trip… you name it. The key to successful blogging is building a community of regular readers and supplying posts in a niche that you are passionate about regularly to keep them glued. How to make money from blogging then, you ask? Some bloggers have, in the past, sold their blogs off to buyers for a very high amount of money and such business transactions are still being made. Most companies look for a successful blog that share their kind of interest and buy them. Better still, you can ask to be kept on as a freelance writer on such blogs and get paid according to a pay structure that appeals to you both. Companies can also approach you to place their own banners on your website ad pay you a huge chunk of money for this advert space. These are just some of the ways in which you can make money while blogging

5. Website Design and Development. Website design and management is a real moneybag. No kidding. A website is the basic entry page for anyone looking for a company or service on the internet and people would pay you a lot to design one for them. Management of already established websites is also a goldmine and a key to wealth.

The list of online businesses to invest in for you doesn’t end there. For example, you could become a publisher on Amazon (with their Kindle Programme), take courses in computer programming and sell your services online, selling of products of classifieds and the likes. While you may not completely focus on all, pick one and establish yourself in it and marvel at how your income multiplies.